Venice is a magical place, it is. It is a beautiful, floating city. Five nights was definitely plenty; I wouldn’t stay any longer what with its overflow of tourists and deadly humidity. Walking around each day was like being in a day-long Bikram yoga class – at least that’s how sweaty I felt.
We arrived Wednesday early afternoon, and right away we were introduced to the fabulous boat/bus (vapretto) system. Crammed tight with other recent arrivals and their luggage, we were instantly captivated by the city on water. En route to our hotel, we were warmly greeted by Heather. It felt like a lot of time had passed since we last saw each other, but at the same time not that long ago. Gosh it was great to see her again! After dropping our stuff, our new trio headed off to meander for the day: Rialto bridge and the bustling shops in the area, as well as taking some time to explore Lido island. Mom and I checked out San Marco Piazza that night, and took the vapretto all the way around. Day two in Venice we island hopped – thank goodness for the vapretto pass! – and saw Murano and all its beautiful glass creations, Burano and its vibrant-coloured houses, and Torcello and its, well, lone church and two restaurants. Day three we started at San Marco Basilica – a truly magnificent church with the most amazing mosaic floors, then wandered some backstreets and neighbourhoods: the Jewish ghetto is the oldest in all of Europe. We were in San Croce and San Polo. It goes without saying that all of our wandering also involved shopping. And Heather and I are too good at navigating to actually get lost. The more challenging part is actually finding yourself on the map! Once you have that solved, then you’re good to go. We went to this amazing gelato place called Alaska. All the flavours are made with fresh, organic produce each day, and the master himself is the one with the scoop. Round one I had banana. Round two – roughly ten minutes later – I had almond. Delicious!
Heather and I were back to our typical antics, objectifying men left, right, and centre, and singing to our hearts content. I would place high bets that we were the sweatiest people in Venice. Heath had an admirer on the vapretto, a handsome boat man. He said we were lost and held up her arm to guide us correctly, as he had noticed her fabulous compass tattoo. That, and inviting her to take her clothes off because it was so darn hot: in a non-creepy kind of way! Haha
I bid Heather farewell, early Saturday morning at the train station. We met for espresso and one last I-love-you-so-much-and-let’s-never-leave-each-other-again session. Then mom and I took a day-trip to Vicenza. What a difference from Venice! We picnicked in the park just outside the old town, and then made our way to the centre. It was a ghost-town comparatively; all the shops closed for an afternoon nap. With mom’s guidebook, we toured around, admiring all the Palladio architecture. It was a really sweet town, with friendly people. It was nice to escape the overflow of Venice. There was a most refreshing water fountain that I walked into for a cool-down. Walking back to the train, late afternoon, the city had changed significantly, and all of its people were out for the evening. It was nice to see the change. It was also a bonus to see, as it’s my cousin Diane’s old stomping ground!
That evening we then went to Verona, as we had opera tickets to see Aida at the amphitheatre. This was quite the event! You can’t imagine the number of people wandering about the main piazza. It’s a people-watching event not to be missed! Because mom and I were staying in Venice though, we knew we’d have to leave the performance early, to catch the last train back. Get this: it started spitting out right before we were due to leave, and immediately the show stopped; the orchestra cleared out (my immediate thought was to save the instruments), the lights came on, the 20 000-some crowd started to murmur, and an announcement blared that the show would be suspended until the weather let up. Even though it was barely sprinkling, the costumes, the set, EVERYTHING must be saved. So much for “the show must go on” mentality. Mom and I just left, to see a lot of the performers outside too, on their cell phones or having a smoke break, and we still don’t know what came of the remainder of the evening. We head to Verona today and we hope to hear what happened! The show itself was stunning. I’m always so impressed with the gusto of opera singers. The costumes were dazzling gold and they matched the set. It was my first opera. I’m not really an opera person; it was more the experience that I enjoyed. It was rather a special one too, with the stadium-like feel of the amphitheatre. People come with picnics and there are vendors walking around selling cold beverages and snacks. And the people with the floor-level seats are dressed to the nines.
Sunday mom and I did some more wandering. We went back to Alaska yet again, this time for the big cone. The gelato man remembered us, and we passed a couple more times that day and he greeted us with a friendly “ciao” while serving his other customers. This time I had three flavours: mint, chocolate, and orange and rucola. So fresh – pieces of mint leaf and orange and rucola! Mmm. We went to the Accademia Gallery to take in some Italian art, though it was more religious than I care for, it’s still something to see. That night there was a huge thunderstorm while we were out for dinner. It made a significant difference in the temperature. This morning we actually arrived at the train station without breaking a sweat! Now we're in fair Verona for a couple days!
I should mention that our hotel was right on a canal. We had a little balcony that hung over the water. Friday evening before heading back out we stopped at the room, and I could have stayed for hours, watching all the gondola rides go by. Heath and I may have witnessed a pre- or post-proposal ride, as the gondolier was singing, and the couple had champagne glasses. We thought it best not to shout out our congrats, in case that wasn’t what happened. There was one gondolier that was particularly handsome, and he saw me at the balcony and motioned for me to jump in the boat. He had his one arm stretched out to me and the other over his heart, and blew a kiss as he rounded the corner. Definition of cheesy? Hahaha The next morning, mom and I saw him again! His face lit up when he saw me, and he said he was heading to the Rialto Bridge. Well, that was our destination too! We had to catch the vapretto though, but our timing worked out because we were able to wave once again from the boat as his gondola arrived. It was quite the scene, as the boat crowd witnessed his “return to me” gestures. Haha I’ll take it. He was so handsome!
We arrived Wednesday early afternoon, and right away we were introduced to the fabulous boat/bus (vapretto) system. Crammed tight with other recent arrivals and their luggage, we were instantly captivated by the city on water. En route to our hotel, we were warmly greeted by Heather. It felt like a lot of time had passed since we last saw each other, but at the same time not that long ago. Gosh it was great to see her again! After dropping our stuff, our new trio headed off to meander for the day: Rialto bridge and the bustling shops in the area, as well as taking some time to explore Lido island. Mom and I checked out San Marco Piazza that night, and took the vapretto all the way around. Day two in Venice we island hopped – thank goodness for the vapretto pass! – and saw Murano and all its beautiful glass creations, Burano and its vibrant-coloured houses, and Torcello and its, well, lone church and two restaurants. Day three we started at San Marco Basilica – a truly magnificent church with the most amazing mosaic floors, then wandered some backstreets and neighbourhoods: the Jewish ghetto is the oldest in all of Europe. We were in San Croce and San Polo. It goes without saying that all of our wandering also involved shopping. And Heather and I are too good at navigating to actually get lost. The more challenging part is actually finding yourself on the map! Once you have that solved, then you’re good to go. We went to this amazing gelato place called Alaska. All the flavours are made with fresh, organic produce each day, and the master himself is the one with the scoop. Round one I had banana. Round two – roughly ten minutes later – I had almond. Delicious!
Heather and I were back to our typical antics, objectifying men left, right, and centre, and singing to our hearts content. I would place high bets that we were the sweatiest people in Venice. Heath had an admirer on the vapretto, a handsome boat man. He said we were lost and held up her arm to guide us correctly, as he had noticed her fabulous compass tattoo. That, and inviting her to take her clothes off because it was so darn hot: in a non-creepy kind of way! Haha
I bid Heather farewell, early Saturday morning at the train station. We met for espresso and one last I-love-you-so-much-and-let’s-never-leave-each-other-again session. Then mom and I took a day-trip to Vicenza. What a difference from Venice! We picnicked in the park just outside the old town, and then made our way to the centre. It was a ghost-town comparatively; all the shops closed for an afternoon nap. With mom’s guidebook, we toured around, admiring all the Palladio architecture. It was a really sweet town, with friendly people. It was nice to escape the overflow of Venice. There was a most refreshing water fountain that I walked into for a cool-down. Walking back to the train, late afternoon, the city had changed significantly, and all of its people were out for the evening. It was nice to see the change. It was also a bonus to see, as it’s my cousin Diane’s old stomping ground!
That evening we then went to Verona, as we had opera tickets to see Aida at the amphitheatre. This was quite the event! You can’t imagine the number of people wandering about the main piazza. It’s a people-watching event not to be missed! Because mom and I were staying in Venice though, we knew we’d have to leave the performance early, to catch the last train back. Get this: it started spitting out right before we were due to leave, and immediately the show stopped; the orchestra cleared out (my immediate thought was to save the instruments), the lights came on, the 20 000-some crowd started to murmur, and an announcement blared that the show would be suspended until the weather let up. Even though it was barely sprinkling, the costumes, the set, EVERYTHING must be saved. So much for “the show must go on” mentality. Mom and I just left, to see a lot of the performers outside too, on their cell phones or having a smoke break, and we still don’t know what came of the remainder of the evening. We head to Verona today and we hope to hear what happened! The show itself was stunning. I’m always so impressed with the gusto of opera singers. The costumes were dazzling gold and they matched the set. It was my first opera. I’m not really an opera person; it was more the experience that I enjoyed. It was rather a special one too, with the stadium-like feel of the amphitheatre. People come with picnics and there are vendors walking around selling cold beverages and snacks. And the people with the floor-level seats are dressed to the nines.
Sunday mom and I did some more wandering. We went back to Alaska yet again, this time for the big cone. The gelato man remembered us, and we passed a couple more times that day and he greeted us with a friendly “ciao” while serving his other customers. This time I had three flavours: mint, chocolate, and orange and rucola. So fresh – pieces of mint leaf and orange and rucola! Mmm. We went to the Accademia Gallery to take in some Italian art, though it was more religious than I care for, it’s still something to see. That night there was a huge thunderstorm while we were out for dinner. It made a significant difference in the temperature. This morning we actually arrived at the train station without breaking a sweat! Now we're in fair Verona for a couple days!
I should mention that our hotel was right on a canal. We had a little balcony that hung over the water. Friday evening before heading back out we stopped at the room, and I could have stayed for hours, watching all the gondola rides go by. Heath and I may have witnessed a pre- or post-proposal ride, as the gondolier was singing, and the couple had champagne glasses. We thought it best not to shout out our congrats, in case that wasn’t what happened. There was one gondolier that was particularly handsome, and he saw me at the balcony and motioned for me to jump in the boat. He had his one arm stretched out to me and the other over his heart, and blew a kiss as he rounded the corner. Definition of cheesy? Hahaha The next morning, mom and I saw him again! His face lit up when he saw me, and he said he was heading to the Rialto Bridge. Well, that was our destination too! We had to catch the vapretto though, but our timing worked out because we were able to wave once again from the boat as his gondola arrived. It was quite the scene, as the boat crowd witnessed his “return to me” gestures. Haha I’ll take it. He was so handsome!
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